CJ quits bench hearing petition against Gen

Apparently against the backdrop of his earlier brush with President Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s Chief Justice Iftikhar M Chaudhry has withdrawn from a bench hearing a petition against the General holding dual office.

The Chief Justice yesterday excluded himself from the recently constituted nine-member bench hearing the petition by Jamaat-e-Islami against Musharraf holding dual office, saying “Not Before Me”, and named Justice Rana Bhagwandas as the head of the panel, The News daily reported on Friday. The next date of hearing of the petition has been fixed on September 17.